After the End
by Kai Maciel
Summary: Thirteen year old Naruto and Sasuke clash at the Valley of the End, one aiming to save, the other to kill for power. However, a terrible coincidence throws them into an unbelievable future. How can both boys deal with what has become of them? Time Travel
1. The Perfect time travel Jutsu

**Hi there!**

**First of all, thanks for reading this story! I decided to write this story on a whim, mostly because there aren't many time-travel stories about Naruto or Sasuke going to the future and hundreds about them going into the past to change it.**

**Well… like all my other stories, I hope this one will be a bit different but interesting at the same time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!**

**Warning: Spoilers about recent manga events.**

**This is not Yaoi.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>"We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude."<strong>_

Charles R. Swindoll

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><p><strong>The Perfect time-travel Jutsu<strong>

完璧なタイムトラベル術 _(Kanpekina taimutoraberu-jutsu)_

_Valley of the End_

Both boys clashed with their respective jutsus, creating a huge blast in the water. Naruto's mind was racing like crazy; all he could think of were Sasuke's words to him.

"_Does our friendship m__ean nothing to you?" _he young blond had asked.

"_No__, it wasn't meaningless" _Sasuke had answered, though his face remained completely blank._ "To me you have become...my closest friend."_

Naruto used all his strength on his Rasengan. He had to test it… he had to know!

The blast threw them on opposite directions. Sasuke was the first to emerge from the waters, frowning with anger and frustration.

"_Argh! __And I was at full power when he countered my Chidori… And his jutsu…"_ the young Uchiha though, bitterly thinking about Naruto's mysterious new jutsu and how it had been able to cause more damages to the water supply back at the hospital than his Chidori. _"Naruto… Such a loser…"_

How could that be? How could someone like him grow so powerful in such a short time? It wasn't possible. Naruto was a moron, a loser, a hopeless Dead-Last. There was no way Sasuke was going to lose to a guy like _**him**_.

Meanwhile, Naruto slowly floated towards the water surface. He wasn't even rushing, his determination, his anger and confusion had been replaced by something far more awful. As the blond looked at Sasuke's angry and disdainful eyes, all he could feel was… sorrow.

"_I… I can't deny it now"_ Naruto though. _"You did mean it."_

Sasuke knew he couldn't waste another Chidori since his limit was two Chidori per day. As Naruto rose from the water, the raven smirked and decided to create an opening. Quick moves and jutsu in rapid succession… then move in with the Chidori and hit him square, full-on.

"_You really meant it"_ tears began to fell down Naruto's cheeks, as he watched Sasuke activating his curse seal with a wide grin on his face. _"You really wouldn't think twice about killing me. Sasuke… Right now, that's all he can think about… All his energy, all his mind focused on how to kill me. This is for real… this is really happening…"_

"Did you know, Naruto…" Sasuke said, still grinning, completely unmoved by Naruto's sadness. Actually, he couldn't even see it. "When two shinobi are of a high enough level, they can read each other's thoughts, through no more than a trade of blows. They don't need to say a word." Naruto remained silent as Sasuke prepared for another attack."Do you know my thoughts? Can you tell me what's on my mind?"

Naruto could move away from Sasuke's Housenka no jutsu, but that had been just a diversion. As the raven kicked and punched Naruto ruthlessly, the blond remembered.

"_Sasuke… I knew you were always alone. I… I used to be glad I found you, someone like me. I was… happy. From first glance, I wanted to know you. But… it wasn't that simple. You could do anything. You were always so popular__."_

Sasuke punched Naruto in the stomach.

"_I was frustrated and I decided you were my rival! I had to beat you… Especially, with everyone calling me a loser. Then they threw us together in Team 7, and nothing was changed. Stubborn as I was, I never let on what I really felt."_

The blond spit blood as the Uchiha punched him the face.

"_Truth was, I just wanted to be like you. You were my idol__. And so..."_

"_**You're one of the ones I want to fight."**_

"_Hearing that… I was never happier. With those words, for the first time__ you acknowledged I was good. And… yes, without even trading blows… without saying a word, I knew right then and there… we were friends."_

Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and lifted him into the air. His left hand was surrounded by lightning.

"_**No, it wasn't meaningless. To me you have become...my closest friend."**_

"_And yet… here you are, intent on killing me. So I don't know what to believe anymore. Did you ever mean what you said? Maybe I was just deluding myself that we were friends. Maybe I wanted it too much…"_

Sasuke raised his arm.

"You're too late, Naruto!" he screamed, while his Chidori pierced Naruto's chest from one side to the other.

The blood ran through Naruto's arm and mouth, dropping to the water.

"_In the end, maybe it was just me who thought we were friends… But then… that makes me… That would make me so stupid, Sasuke. But… I can't help it. I don't why. I guess it's just… I don't want a thug like Orochimaru to ruin you…"_

At the last moment, Naruto was able to move Sasuke's arm from hitting his chest.

"So I missed your heart" Sasuke said, with a blood thirsty look in his red eyes. "Nice move with your hand there. Still… Didn't help much, did it? You're still out a shoulder and a lung" he removed his bloodied arm from Naruto's chest, smiling with satisfaction. "You can't use your right arm. You can't even breathe properly. Forget about using hand seals or your jutsu. It's all over."

With his left hand, still wet with the blood of the person he considered his closest friend, Sasuke grinned evilly and started to squeeze Naruto's throat. As he took his life, he would finally gain the Mangekyō Sharingan and have the power to kill Itachi.

"_It's done…"_ the Uchiha thought.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand grabbed Sasuke's with such strength that the raven had to let go of him. Something was happening… Naruto's body was surrounded by red chakra.

"_What…? Red chakra? That power… where did it come from?"_

To Sasuke's astonishment, Naruto's wound started to heal incredibly fast. In a matter of seconds, the hole was gone. The blond himself looked different, his canines were bigger, his whisker marks more pronounced.

He looked like a raging beast.

"Sasuke! Orochimaru can't have you!" Naruto growled, tears running from his now red and slitted eyes. "I'll stop you even if I have to break all of your limbs!"

Sasuke was dumfounded. _"Is this really… Naruto? What's this force? It's overwhelming… And was that really red chakra? Is he a monster?"_

"What the hell are you?" the Uchiha asked.

"Your friend" Naruto growled. "That's what I've been telling you… filth like Orochimaru can't have you! And that's why I'm gonna stop you… even if I have to break your every limb!"

And real battle began.

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><p><em>Konohagakure, Hokage's Office<em>

Hundreds of scrolls and documents were piled on the desk, waiting to be carefully read and duly signed by the Hokage. Some of them had red ink, to remind the Kage just how _**important**_ and _**urgent**_ they were. Damn, he hated paperwork!

Just looking at the papers, he felt an unbelievable urge to burn them and pretend he never got them in the first place. Obviously, he couldn't do that (much to his chagrin!) or there would be horrible consequences.

Somehow, he felt especially tense today. Ever since he'd woken up, he felt uneasy and insecure… like something was wrong.

The Hokage shook his head vigorously. He was being ridiculous. Nothing was wrong! The day went on normally; there were no reports about threats to the village, the teams he made were on missions, he just got eleven reports on successful missions and a lot of people from all around the world wanted the Konoha ninja to handle their requests.

The village was safe. His people, his friends, his comrades, his allies, his family… they were all safe and happy. What more could he want?

With a soft smile, he got up from his chair and looked at the window. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The sky was bright blue and the weather was nice. He could see the villagers and the shinobi on the streets chattering cheerfully, going shopping or doing their chores. A small group of children, who, he assumed were skipping class from the Academy, ran towards the playground. Their parents would be notified by their teachers eventually and they would all be punished, but right now all they wanted was to have fun.

Their smiling faces made the Hokage fell at ease. There was nothing wrong with this day.

"Ano… excuse me… Hokage-sama?" a shy voice called.

A young woman entered his office warily, trying to look at him in the eyes. She was short and skinny, her light brown hair was tied in a ponytail and her black eyes were filled with apprehension.

"Yes?" the Hokage asked, trying to remember her.

"I'm… I'm here to ask your approval to perform a jutsu" she said, trying her best to sound confident.

"A jutsu? Why are you asking my permission?" the Kage asked, slightly confused.

"Oh! Right… I'm from the Investigation Unit" she explained. "We were assigned to collect and study the old jutsus left by other ninjas from our village. Many old scrolls appeared when the village was being rebuilt, hidden underground or on secret passageways... My unit is responsible to find them and study them before presenting them to you and the Jōnin council."

The Hokage nodded, also embarrassed to have forgotten that. Today he was really off in some way.

"My name is Kawano Minami" she said. "I'm the one responsible for analyzing the space-time Ninjutsu found three months ago, which were buried under the previous ninja Academy. Most of them are just thesis and experiments about the flow of time and how a ninja can use his chakra or seals to bend time to his will."

Minami tried to look the Hokage in the eyes. She had to show him how determined she was about her research. She needed his approval!

"I don't even know who made them. Honestly, I though the shinobi who wrote them was just rambling… but there is this one jutsu who caught my attention. I really believe it could be done."

The Hokage blinked.

"What could be done?" he asked her. "What jutsu are you talking about?"

Minami's eyes became resolute.

"The perfect time-travel jutsu" she finally said.

"What?"

"The past cannot be changed" she said. "It's an essential rule. If someone changed something about the past there would be terrible consequences. For instance, if we saved someone from dying in the past, someone else would have to die in their place. Every action has repercussions… even our mistakes, preventing them would only lead to others. That is why the past his so sacred, it cannot and it should not be touched by anyone. If everyone tried to change their past or somebody else's, reality would be destroyed."

The Hokage kept staring at Minami, more and more intrigued. Everyone wished they could change something about their past… Damn, he, more than anyone, understood that desire. But what she said was true: changing our past was not the answer. He would never save someone by sacrificing someone else's life but his own.

"You said the jutsu you found is "_perfect_"?" he asked. "What did you mean?"

Minami's eyes shone with enthusiasm.

"From what I found, this jutsu can bring things or people from the past into the future and then return them into their own time completely untouched. In other words, when the person from the past goes back to their own time, he or she won't remember anything about the future. They will return to the exact moment when they left and be exactly the same. That way, the future won't be changed, there is no danger! That is why I'm asking you permission to use this jutsu, sir."

The Hokage stood silent for a few moments. He could understand Minami's excitement over the jutsu and he was curious too, however, even if the jutsu worked, he couldn't just let her bring some unknown person into their time. That would be a threat to the village and possibly cruel to the person. Who would want to be dragged into someplace mysterious as a guinea pig for a jutsu? That was insulting!

"Are you sure you can perform this jutsu? Are you sure it isn't dangerous?" he asked.

"I'm almost positive, Hokage-sama. Believe me; I did my research on it for weeks. I know it step by step and I know I can do it."

The Kage sighed and faced her. "Very well, you have my permission to perform the jutsu. But, I have a few conditions: you won't bring anyone from the past, it's wrong to test jutsus on people without their consent" Minami nodded solemnly. "You can test it outside the village, it's safer that way."

"Yes, sir. I give you my word. I will test it on some animals from an isolated area. Do you have any suggestions?"

The Hokage went back to his desk and rubbed his nose absent mindedly. An isolated area? There were so many, but right now he couldn't think of any…

"The Valley of the End" he said, without thinking. "It's secluded… no one else goes there."

Minami nodded, thanked the Hokage and left. She was so excited! She couldn't believe she was actually gonna use the time-travel jutsu she'd been studying so hard for weeks. This would be the high point of her career.

The Valley of the End… she believed the famous white salmon often produced offspring in there. She could try and bring some. What could possibly go wrong?

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><p><strong>Okay, this was the first chapter. It's a bit difficult to tell the past from the future and I don't want to give a lot of information at this point (where's the fun in that ^_^)<strong>

**Please tell me what you think! See ya!**


	2. Terrible Coincidence

**Hi, again! And thanks for keep reading!**

**This time travel story is going to follow the manga plot as much as possible, some other things… well… please trust my ideas. I hope you like them.**

**I'm trying to keep the characters in character but, again, I'm just trying. I was also inspired by the fic "A Stich in Time" by Pluma Desatada. One of the best time-travel fics I've read!**

**Warning: There is no pairings.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Terrible Coincidence<strong>

恐ろしい偶然の一致 _(Osoroshii gūzen no itchi)_

_Konohagakure_

An hour later, the Hokage couldn't bring himself to read anymore scrolls. He couldn't even concentrate on the ninja who came to his office to talk to him. God, he needed a break! He really needed to get out and stretch his legs.

Quietly, he opened the window and jumped towards the next roof and then to the streets.

"_Yes! They won't find me for a while now!"_he thought with a mischievous smirk, as he walked towards his favorite restaurant. _"Today I really can't focus on paperwork. I'll read everything tomorrow. I shouldn't work if I can't pay attention to it, so… I'm making the best decision here."_

The delicious scent from the Ichiraku Ramen made him almost run towards it, but the Kage kept his composure and walked slowly towards it. Teuchi and Ayame were working hard as always, washing vegetables and cleaning the old oven, which was the only think that wasn't destroyed during Konoha's attack.

"Teuchi Ojii-chan! Is there any Ramen left?"

Father and daughter turned around and welcomed the Hokage with a warm smile.

"Well, look who's here?" Teuchi greeted. "Of course there's Ramen. This is a Ramen restaurant. Sit down, I'll make you a bowl in a sec."

"Great!" he said, sitting in the middle round chair.

"Shouldn't you be working in your office?" Ayame asked, as she cleaned the table.

"I'm just taking a small break. I'll go back later" the Hokage said with a small frown.

"You ran away again, didn't you?" the young woman asked with an amused smile.

"Maybe… Okay, fine, I ran off. It's not something every Kage didn't do once in a while. Even Tsunade Baa-chan escaped from Shizune Nee-chan to gamble and get drunk. When she didn't, she'd fall asleep on the desk and drool all over the documents."

Ayame couldn't help it and laughed. The great Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin and one of the most powerful kunoichi in the world, drunk and drooling was just too funny.

"Besides… I'm not really into reading official procedures today" the Hokage continued. "I just can focus."

"When can you _**ever**_ focus on something?"

The Hokage blinked and shuddered as he slowly turned around. Behind him, was a young woman dressed in red and pink garments. Her green eyes were dangerously focused on the Hokage.

"Sa… Sakura-chan!"

Sakura entered the restaurant and slapped the Hokage's head.

"You irresponsible idiot!" she scolded. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Running from your office and leaving all the work to be done. What are you? Twelve? When are gonna grow up and start acting like a man, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto rubbed his blond head.

"Sakura-chan… you didn't have to hit me. I'm just taking a break; I'll go back to the office in a minute."

"Right… that's why when I went to your office, the guards told me you had jumped from your window and didn't tell anyone where you were going" Sakura went on, placing both hands on her hips. "You're the Hokage now! You need to be more liable!"

"Ah…" Naruto said, still rubbing his sore head. Man, Sakura's punches really hurt. "I'm sorry… I promise I'll work twice as hard after I eat. But… You needed something from me, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's scowl disappeared and her cheeks blushed slightly with awkwardness.

"Well… I…" she stammered.

"Oh! You found him, Sakura!"

Suddenly, three men appeared inside the restaurant. Two of them wore the traditional Jōnin vest while the younger one was dressed with an ANBU uniform.

"Hi there!" Naruto greeted them with a huge smile. "I didn't know you guys were back from your mission already."

Kakashi closed his book and sat beside his former student. His appearance didn't change much even after all those years. He would never have to worry about gray hairs, since his hair had always been gray, and since his mask covered most of his face no one could tell if he had wrinkles (something both Naruto and Sakura still wanted and tried to remove unsuccessfully).

"We got back a while ago" the copy ninja said. "We ran into Sakura when we were heading to your office, so she came along with us."

Naruto blinked as Yamato, Sai and Sakura sat on the chairs.

"Did you guys need something?" Naruto asked, going into, what he called, _Hokage Mode_. "I'm sorry I left the office so suddenly. If you want, I can go back right now and read our report."

Yamato shook his head.

"It wasn't that, Naruto-kun" he said. "We came to talk to you."

"Huh?"

"We wanted to invite you to have lunch with us" Sai said. "Team Kakashi hasn't been together for a while, so we thought it would be fun if we spent some time together."

"Oh! Thanks! That's a great idea!" Naruto exclaimed. "Of course I'll have lunch with you guys. I really miss our old days as a team."

"I thought so" Sai said, still smiling as usual. "It's important to keep in contact with our closest friends to strengthen our bonds. I read that in a book."

"Well… for once, you actually said something right, Sai" Naruto answered.

As the new Team Kakashi ate their ramen and chattered, the blond Hokage couldn't help but feel increasingly happier. There he was, surrounded by some of the people who were closest to him: his sensei, his captain and his two teammates. Even if the team had been disbanded and each had followed their separated way, they all still felt like a team. That bond could not be severed so easily.

"Thank you for the food!" Naruto exclaimed. "Man, I really needed this today!"

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "You always say you need ramen, even for breakfast."

"You're right. I never say no to ramen. It's just… I wasn't felling so good today, but now it's like I've been revitalized!"

Sakura frowned and stared at her teammate attentively.

"Are you feeling ill?" she asked, trying to see signs of a fever. "Maybe you should go to the hospital. I can give a check up if you want."

"No thanks. I'm not sick" Naruto replied. "I just… I couldn't feel at ease today. It's a bad feeling I have, I can't explain why."

Kakashi looked at Naruto. He had finished his meal so quickly, that no one was able to see his face… again!

"Maybe it's your subconscious that is not at ease" the gray haired man said.

"My subconscious?"

"Someone like Naruto has a subconscious?" Sai asked. "That sounds way to complex for him…"

"Sai! Goddamnit! Who the hell do you think you are?"

Kakashi ignored their bickering and stared deeply into Naruto's blue eyes.

"You don't remember what day is today, do you?" he asked. Naruto blinked, obviously confused, so Kakashi placed his book in his pocket one more. "You fought against Sasuke in the Valley of the End, exactly twenty years ago."

Abruptly, everyone became tense at the table. Naruto widened his eyes, while Sakura stared at him with sadness.

The Hokage lowered his chopsticks on his empty bowl.

"I see… So it's been twenty years already…"

"Hmm…" Sakura mumbled.

"Time sure flies" Kakashi commented.

Naruto rose from his chair all of a sudden, his eyes were wide open and he paled.

"Naruto?" Yamato asked. "What's wrong?"

"No…" Naruto murmured. "There's no way… that's just crazy…"

"Naruto! What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"I have to stop her!" the blond said, jumping toward the next roof. Thunderstruck, his comrades followed him.

"_It's a long shot. I told her to use the time travel jutsu on the Valley of the End__, I never told her _when_ to use it"_ Naruto thought, going to Kyuubi Chakra Mode to run faster and sense Minami's location. _"It was twenty years ago… exactly twenty years ago! She can use the jutsu's power on last year or ten years ago. It doesn't even have to be this day! There is no way she would use the jutsu twenty years ago on __**exactly**__ this day! It's too much of a coincidence! What are the odds?"_

Even though the blond Hokage kept saying that to himself, he couldn't help feeling that something very bad was about to happen.

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><p>Minami was ready. The seals were carefully placed on the ground of the small cottage where she decided to use the time travel jutsu. Everything was ready, all she needed to do was decide a date and start making the thirty hand seals she memorized by heart.<p>

"Let me think… this year? No, too recent. What about five years and six months? Hmm… still too early… I have to decide a good day, month and year. C'mon, I can wait to start! I need to choose."

The young woman finally shrugged.

"What the hell. Let it be twenty years from now. It's not like it's gonna make such a difference."

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><p><em>Valley of the End, twenty years ago<em>

Surrounded by the Demon Fox's chakra shroud, Naruto grabbed Sasuke with one of his chakra arms and pulled him towards his fist, punching the Uchiha right in the face and making fly against the rocks.

"Heh heh heh heh…" the raven laughed, while Naruto stared. "Guess this is it… You leave me no choice… Naruto!" Sasuke rose from the ground and his skin and hair started changing. His black hair turned dark-blue and grew longer, his skin turned dark-grey, his lips became purple and a star-shaped mark appeared on his nose. "Turns out you were pretty special. But in the end… I'm still more special than you!"

Naruto stared at his friend, still perplexed by his strange appearance. Was that the result of the curse seal?

"To be special? It's all about that?" the blond boy asked.

Sasuke merely laughed in response, thrilled by his sudden increase of power.

"Heh heh… I won't lose" he said.

Naruto attacked him once more, but Sasuke defended himself by growing a wing and kicked the blond, who landed on the foot of the First Hokage's Statue. As he rose from the debris, Naruto stared wide eyed at Sasuke as he grew a second webbed-claw-shaped wing from his back.

"Sasuke, you…"

Sasuke flinched, his body was hurting. He remembered what one of Orochimaru's men had said: if he kept the curse mark in a released state for too long it would erode his body.

"_It's eating me away…"_ the young Uchiha thought. "_I have no time to drag this out."_

Naruto tried to move but something was wrong with his body too.

"_My left hand… completely numb…"_ he thought.

"Your power… Looks like it carries some risk with it" Sasuke said, content that Naruto was having trouble as well, that would make everything easier. "Do you know? We're at the border they call Valley of the End. A perfect setting… wouldn't you say?" Naruto remained in silence, glaring at him. "Oh… Yeah… I said we were done chatting didn't I? Well. It's about time we wrap up… this little duel. All the battles to date… Now!"

The boys threw themselves into each other, clashing with Chidori and Rasengan. Their hearts collided with this finishing blow.

Sasuke hit Naruto in his chest, while the latter moved his hand towards the Uchiha's headband and scratched it. A huge sphere of power surrounded them and everything turned white.

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><p>Minami finished the hand seals and placed both hands firmly on the ground. To her dismay, the cottage exploded around her and she was thrown back.<p>

"Wha…? What is happening?" she screamed in fear and confusion. This wasn't supposed to happen. The jutsu was supposed to be safe.

In the middle of the former cottage, was a huge crater now. Minami expected to find water from the river and fishes; instead she stared wide eyed at two boys. Or at least, she thought they were boys. One of them was covered by a red aura, but he fell to the ground and fainted, making the aura disappear. The other boy looked like a demon or a vampire; surely no human being would look like him! Minami felt her legs shaking with fear as he stared right at her with his red eyes filled with rage.

Sasuke looked around. A quick glance told him he wasn't in the Valley of the End anymore. Somehow, he and Naruto had been summoned to some sort of valley. A pitiful woman was looking at him, trembling so much in fear that she looked she was about to faint.

"Where am I? Who are you?" the Uchiha snarled.

But Minami didn't answer him, too frightened to even react. Sasuke looked around and his red eyes became fixed on the unmistakably Hokage Mountain. He was so baffled that he didn't notice that there were five heads on the Mountain instead of four.

"Konoha? I'm back at Konoha?" he growled. "You did this?"

"I… I didn't…" Minami stammered.

Filled with frustration, Sasuke jumped towards her. However, his hands punched the rock that was behind her instead.

"_What…?"_ Sasuke thought, turning to his left. The woman had been saved by a man who looked like he was glowing with light.

Despite the pain in all his body, Sasuke tried to attack them once more. It all went so fast that not even his Sharingan was able to see the man going to him and knocking him out with a blow in his gut. The last thing Sasuke saw before fainting was a Yellow Flash.

* * *

><p>Naruto caught the unconscious Uchiha in his arms. Slowly, Sasuke's second level of the curse seal retreated and he turned into normal, though some blood ran down his chin from his mouth.<p>

"Hokage-sama…" Minami whimpered, still terrified. "I'm… I'm so sorry… I didn't know this would happen… I'm so sorry…"

Naruto ended his Kyuubi Chakra Mode.

"It's okay, Minami" he said, still holding Sasuke to his chest. "It wasn't your fault."

"Naruto!" Kakashi screamed, jumping near the blond Hokage. His black eye widened as looked at the unconscious thirteen year old Uchiha Sasuke in Naruto's arms. "Naruto… What the hell happened? Who is this?"

Naruto lowered his head. When Sakura, Sai and Yamato arrived, they had similar reactions of bewilderment and disbelief when they saw the two boys. Sakura gaped and went over to Past Naruto, checking his pulse and breathing.

"I… I can't believe this. He's real" she said, with her hands shaking. "It's not a genjutsu."

"Naruto, what have you done?" Kakashi asked, with a very serious look on his face.

Naruto stared back at his sensei, not wavering one bit. Right now, he was a Kage to the core and need to decide how to deal with this.

"I'll tell you guys everything later" Naruto said. "Right now, these two need medical attention. Sakura-chan… can you get me Tsunade Baa-chan and Shizune Nee-chan?"

Still overwhelmed, the pink haired kunoichi nodded. She knew Naruto was dead serious now and there was no point on arguing.

"What are you gonna do with them?" Yamato asked.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and them to his younger self.

"Take him to the hospital and heal him" the Hokage ordered, referring to young Naruto. "Make sure he doesn't leave the hospital."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke "What about… him?"

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed before handing the sleeping Uchiha to his sensei.

"Take him to the isolation cell, as far away from the other prisoners as possible" Naruto said, unwavering. "The ANBU will guard him. He needs medical attention too; one of them must be also a medic-nin."

"Naruto… You're going to send him to prison?" Sai asked.

Naruto didn't answer him.

* * *

><p>Naruto seemed to be floating in a foggy world. His whole body ached like crazy and his head… he couldn't think straight. All he wanted was to sleep, but there were voices around him. Worried voices.<p>

Very slowly, he opened his eyes a little bit. There was someone looking at him… someone tall and blond. He was wearing a white cloak.

"_Yondaime?" _the young blond thought. _"Is that you? Does that mean I'm dead?"_

The blond man disappeared and someone leaned over his face.

"Naruto?" a familiar voice asked. "Naruto? Are you awake?"

Gradually, Naruto's vision improved and he looked directly into Tsunade's brown eyes.

"Baa-chan…" he said. "Am I… dead?"

Tsunade smiled.

"Baka! Of course you're not dead. If you were, you wouldn't be talking now, would you?"

Naruto nodded, feeling bandages all around his face and body. He must have been beaten up pretty bad.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, making Tsunade blink. "Where's Sasuke?"

Someone dressed in black got closer and Naruto recognized Shizune. He also noticed the presence of another woman in the back of the room, but he didn't know her.

"Sasuke is okay, Naruto-kun" Shizune said, kindly.

Naruto blinked.

"Does that mean… he's back in Konoha?" the blond boy asked.

Tsunade nodded "He's back in Konoha, Naruto. Don't worry."

Naruto felt tears of relief behind his eyes.

"I did it…" he whispered, barely able to keep his eyes open. "I stopped him. I kept my promise… Sakura-chan… will be so happy…"

As the young blond fell asleep, Sakura covered her eyes with her left hand and cried in silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I guess I can tell this now. It's been twenty years after the battle in the Valley of the End, so Naruto and Sakura are 33 years old. Sai is 34. Yamato is 42. Kakashi is 46.<strong>

**Naruto is the Hokage now and his an adult, that means he's going to act more maturely, but still keeping his personality. **

**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to review!**


	3. Disappointment

**Hi, there! I must say this is the first time I directly write a chapter in English. I usually write in Portuguese first and then I translate it into English. That's why this won't be as ****descriptive as my other stories. Well… I hope it's still good.**

**BTW, I know I wrote that the Hokage Mountain has five heads despite Naruto being the Hokage!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disappointment<strong>

失望 _(Shitsubō)_

When Sasuke woke up, the first thing he felt was the smell. The place smelled like dirt and rocks and the air was damp, like a cave. Far away, he could hear the continuous sound of dropping water.

The only available light came from a few candles on the walls. As his senses improved, the raven noticed the bars of the cell.

"What the…?" he mumbled as he tried to move. His arms were over his head, chained to the wall. There were seals all over the place, chakra suppression seals.

That was when it hit him. He had been caught when he tried to leave Konoha to go to Orochimaru. And now, he was in jail.

"Get me out of here!" Sasuke yelled to the empty corridors. "Is anybody there? Let me the fuck out!"

There was no answer, though Sasuke could sense the presence of three shinobi nearby, his jailers. The Uchiha tried to move and break the chains, but it was of no use. He even tried to summon enough chakra to activate the curse seal, but the seals all around him drained his power immediately.

"Fuck!"

Shaking in anger, Sasuke leaned against the wall. How dared they try to stop him? What did those dimwitted people know about him? About his clan? About his need to kill Itachi? Nothing! No one understood a thing!

What was going to happen now? They didn't actually believe that bringing him back to Konoha was going to change anything, did they? He would never join Team 7 again. As long as he stayed in the village, Sasuke would never gain the power to defeat his brother. Staying here was pointless!

As soon as he could, he would try to escape again. All he needed was an opening, so he would wait for the right moment, and run for it. If someone tried to stop him, he would kill them just like he had tried with Naruto.

By the way… where was that loser? Sasuke remembered the clash vaguely. He remembered hitting Naruto in the chest, while the blond had aimed for his forehead… to his Hitai-ate. Naruto had scratched it.

"_When I said he couldn't do it"_ the raven thought.

Naruto didn't try to kill him, though his attack could have done it. Sasuke had given up at the last moment as well. Somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. If he killed Naruto, he would be doing exactly what Itachi had said and that made him feel aggravated.

He would get power in his own way; he didn't need his brother's meddling.

Looking at himself, Sasuke realized he was wearing the prisoner's clothing. So did that mean they were going to imprison him? Was he going to on trial?

Like all ninjas, Sasuke knew perfectly well the fate of a deserter. If someone became a nuke-nin, they would be immediately marked for death. That was the punishment for treason. Sasuke had tried to leave Konoha and meet another criminal for power. Surely he would be punished.

After a while, Sasuke heard faint voices and the sound of a metal door opening, followed by footsteps going down the stairs. Frowning, Sasuke waited until a Jōnin slowly came to his cell and opened it with a key.

"Kakashi" Sasuke said, glaring at his _former_ sensei.

"Hello, Sasuke" the gray haired ninja said impassively. "I see you have woken up."

"Tsk… You guys think you can hold me here forever?"

Kakashi just stared at the raven. No hint of emotion in his visible black eye.

"That's up to the Hokage to decide" Kakashi said. "There isn't really anything I can do at this point."

"What is the Hokage gonna do?" the raven spat. "Execute me?"

"I seriously doubt that" Kakashi said, staring at Sasuke with a strange look.

After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Sasuke exploded.

"What the fuck do you want, Kakashi? Are you going to lecture me again? Because if you are, you can save your breath."

"I know. I won't give you any lectures anymore, Sasuke. I know it's pointless" Kakashi placed a bag on the floor. "I brought you some of your spare clothes, since the ones you wore had two huge holes on the back your shirt. You can dress these when the ANBU comes to take you home."

Sasuke blinked, confused by the older ninja's words.

"Take me home?" the Uchiha asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said. The ANBU will escort you to the Uchiha Compound. Then the Hokage will decide what to do."

Without saying another word, Kakashi left the cell.

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><p>Sitting on his hospital bed, Naruto was in heaven! After sleeping like a rock for twelve hours, the blond told one the nurses that he was hungry. Immediately after, they brought all the food he could eat. Even ramen! And every time he asked for more, they would just bring it with huge smiles on their faces. Everybody was so nice to him, that it seemed surreal.<p>

When he was finally done eating, Naruto asked if he could go and see Sasuke, who was most likely in another room. One nurse told him to wait, because the Hokage wanted to talk to him. So Naruto just nodded and waited impatiently for Tsunade.

The blond didn't even try to hide his happiness. He had made it! He had brought Sasuke back! Now everything was going back to normal. Maybe Tsunade would want to punish the raven, but Naruto was sure he could talk her out of it. It had been Orochimaru's fault! That thug had changed Sasuke and convinced him he could grow stronger just so he could steal Sasuke's body. But that wasn't going to happen! Sasuke was saved!

Probably that teme was still angry and pissed that he had returned to Konoha. Naruto still had to talk to him again and try to bring him back to his senses. But the most important thing was that Sasuke was safe in Konoha again, where Orochimaru could never lay his hands on him again.

"_Very soon, we'll be a team again"_ the blond genin thought.

Before Tsunade arrived, Naruto found his clothes in a drawer and got dressed. Fortunately, someone most have gone to his house and brought his spare orange jacket, since the one he found had no hole in it.

"Naruto!" Tsunade called from behind the sliding door. "We're coming in!"

"Okay!"

Tsunade entered the room followed by a very nervous young woman, who couldn't even stare at Naruto in the eye, and a very familiar blond man.

"You already got dressed?" Tsunade asked, frowning in disapproval. "I never gave you permission to leave the hospital. I just got here."

"I'm fine, Baa-chan" Naruto exclaimed, removing the bandages of his healed face. "See? You know how quickly I heal. By the way, can you tell me which room Sasuke is? I want to talk to him."

Tsunade tensed while the woman behind her looked at her feet. The blond man, who Naruto had the really strong feeling he knew from somewhere before, just stared back at him with a blank expression.

"Baa-chan? Who are they?"

Tsunade exchange a look with the older blond before answering.

"Listen Naruto… there's something you need to know" the medical-nin said, looking oddly nervous.

The young pre-teen blinked.

"What is it? Is it Sasuke? Is he okay? Please don't tell me he ran off again!"

"No. Sasuke is in Konoha and he's fine."

"Oh… So can I go see him?"

"Not yet" Tsunade said. "Sasuke is in jail for now."

"_Jail?_" Naruto shrieked, completely horrified. "How could have sent him to jail, Baa-chan? He didn't do anything! It's all Orochimaru's fault! He's the one who made Sasuke leave the village. Let him out!"

"It's just a precaution… Naruto" the blond man suddenly said, approaching the young Genin. "Sasuke is very mad that he's back in the village. He would ran away again and maybe hurt someone in the process. That's why he's in jail for now… just until he calms down."

Naruto looked at the older blond in awe. He just seemed so familiar that it was unsettling.

"Who are you, Nii-chan?" Naruto asked.

The man just smiled warmly and kneeled next to him.

"You haven't noticed yet?" the man asked. "I don't think have changed that much in twenty years."

"Pff! You're kidding, right?" Tsunade snorted.

Naruto looked even more confused. Sure, the man looked familiar, but he has pretty sure he had never seen him before.

"Twenty years? What the heck are you talking about, Nii-chan?"

"Well… it's hard to explain…" the man stammered. "And you won't believe it at first. How should I put it… eh…"

"For crying out loud!" Tsunade burst in frustration. "Let's just say it already. Naruto… you're in the future."

For several seconds, no one said a thing. The blond Genin just kept blinking, while the older blond stared at Tsunade perplexed.

"Future?" Naruto repeated slowly. "Future!"

"Now you've done it, Baa-chan" the older blond said, standing up and covering his blue eyes.

"Shut up. He needed to know sooner or later" Tsunade answered back, placing both her hands on her hips.

"Ah! Ah! Very funny, Baa-chan" Naruto said, as the others stared at him.

"Why are you laughing, Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"Huh? Because you made a joke. You said I'm the future. Seriously Baa-chan… it's not that funny."

"You think I would joke about something like that?" she asked, very annoyed.

"I told you…" the blond man mumbled.

"Shut up! Naruto… this is not a joke" the medical-nin stared deep into his blue eyes, looking more serious than ever. "This really is the future. You and Sasuke got sent here by mistake."

Naruto's smile faded from his face as he realized how serious everyone looked at him.

"Are you… really serious?"

"I am so sorry, Naruto-sama!" the young woman cried, bowing in front of a very baffled Naruto.

"_Naruto-sama_?" the boy thought.

"It's all my fault! I the one who used the Time-Travel Jutsu. I was so reckless that I brought you here by mistake. I was trying to bring some salmons from the river in the Valley of the End. I swear I didn't mean it… I am very, very sorry!"

"No, Minami" the older blond said. "It wasn't your fault. I was the one who told you to use the jutsu on the Valley of the End. It's my fault those two ended up here."

"Hokage-sama…" Minami stared at the man with tears in her eyes.

"What the hell are you guys talking about!" Naruto shouted, grabbing his head. "I don't get this at all! Why did you call this guy Hokage? Tsunade Baa-chan is the new Hokage!"

Tsunade sighed and opened up the window.

"Naruto, come here" she ordered. Naruto obeyed and looked out. "Don't you see anything different?"

At first, Naruto could see anything special. He saw streets, villagers, ninjas, houses, trees… it was just the village. Then he noticed the Hokage Mountain and the five heads.

"What the hell? Since when did you get your head in the Mountain, Baa-chan?" Naruto shouted. "It wasn't there when we left! How did you build it that quickly?"

"Baka! Weren't you listening to what we said?" Tsunade said, hitting Naruto in the head, much to Minami's dismay. "That head was carved years ago, back when I was Hokage. But I've resigned by now and picked a successor. Right now, the masons are planning the construction of the next Hokage's head" Tsunade pointed to the older blond. "_**He**_ is the Sixth Hokage, God helps us all."

Naruto stared back at Tsunade, the blond man and the Hokage Mountain with his eyes so wide that they looked like they were about to fall off his sockets.

"So… is this for real?" the young ninja mumbled. "Is this really the future? Are you sure I didn't just hit my head really hard or something and now I'm seeing things?"

"I'm afraid not" the Rokudaime said with and embarrassed smile. "This is not a genjutsu either."

Naruto blinked.

"How… how did you know I was thinking about that?"

"Because that's what I'd been thinking if I were in your shoes" the man smiled and his blue eyes, so similar to Naruto's, shone.

"Nii-chan… you look just like the Yondaime" Naruto said, staring at the new Hokage with a strange feeling in his chest.

"I do, huh?" the Hokage chuckled. "Ero-Sennin also said that I looked a lot like him, right?"

Naruto's jaw had completely fallen.

"What…? Now wait a minute! Ero-Sennin said that to _**me**_! How do you know what he told me?"

The Rokudaime just grinned as Naruto stared at him carefully. The young Genin noticed the long blond spiky hair, just like his own, the bright eyes, the slightly tanned skin, the orange outfit under his white coat with red designs, the whiskers marks on the man's cheeks…

"No way…" Naruto said, feeling his heart beating faster and faster.

Naruto was in the future. This man was the Hokage, he looked just like him, he called Jiraiya Ero-Sennin…

"You've figured it out, huh?" the older blond said.

"You're… Don't tell me you're…"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto" the man said with an amused grin. "I'm the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure, dattebayo!"

"AAAAAAHHH!"

Young Naruto stepped back a few steps until he hit the wall, staring at his older self in disbelief.

"Holy shit! **_You're me?_**" the young blond cried, before gaining the courage to move closer to the Hokage and check him out.

"Ah… what are you doing?" older Naruto asked as his younger self looked at him from top to bottom.

"I don't believe this… I grow tall! I'll look so cool!" the boy cried, filled with enthusiasm. "AND I MAKE HOKAGE! YAY! YAY! YAY!"

As the pre-teen danced and jumped, older Naruto lowered his face in shame.

"God… Was I really _that_ annoying?"

"Oh, yeah" Tsunade mumbled.

Finally tired of dancing, Naruto walked towards his future self with a big smile on his lips.

"Ne! Ne! You have to tell me everything!" the boy pleaded with his eyes shining. "How strong am I, now? I bet I'm super strong, right? Even if I'm an old guy now."

"_Old guy?" _the Hokage growled, snapping the teen on the head. "Who the fuck are you calling old, you brat? I'm still on my thirties! I'm not old!"

"Ow! You didn't have to hit me, old me!"

"Don't call me _old me_, Goddamnit! Geez… No wonder Sakura-chan always got so mad when I was around. I used to be really irritating…"

"Hmph… You still are, Naruto" Tsunade said.

"Baa-chan! Don't say that! I'm a lot more mature now!"

"Hey! Is Sakura-chan here? I want to see her!" young Naruto said. "I want to see the rest of Team 7 too! How is Kakashi-sensei? And Sasuke-teme? Does he have to follow my orders now? That is so cool! I can't wait to meet everybody!"

Suddenly, both Hokage Naruto and Tsunade tensed. The medical-nin lowered her brown eyes, while the older blonds' expression became somber. Young Naruto's smile faded as he felt that something wasn't right.

"What?" the genin asked. "What's the matter?"

Tsunade stared at her successor, who looked older and sadder than ever. The younger blond was getting scared; he didn't like his older self expression.

"What happened?" young Naruto insisted. "Why are you looking like that? What happened to my team?"

The Hokage closed his eyes and sighed before he was able to stare at his child self. He knew that what he was about to say was going to crush this boy's heart into pieces. Had he really been this small and innocent about the world?

"Naruto… Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan are fine" he said, watching the young Genin's eyes wide as he realized what he was talking about.

"What about Sasuke?" younger Naruto asked. "What happened to Sasuke? He… he came back, right?" the Hokage continued to stare at him with sadness in his eyes. "I brought him back, right? I promised! I promised Sakura-chan I'd bring him back no matter what!"

"Naruto…" the older blond whispered, but the boy didn't let him talk.

"He came back! He has to come back! There's no way Sasuke would leave us forever!" Naruto cried, dangerously close to tears. "There's no way _**I**_ would let him leave! Orochimaru can't have him! Sasuke is not…"

The Hokage grabbed his younger self by his shoulders and silenced him.

"I… tried. I tried to bring him back" older Naruto said, feeling the boy's sorrow as his own. "When we clashed at the Valley of the End, I lost consciousness and Sasuke left to Orochimaru. Kakashi-sensei came but it was too late. Sasuke was gone."

"No…" the blond boy shook his head as if trying to deny his future. A tear ran through his cheek.

"The truth is… I was still too weak to stop him" the Hokage said. "Besides, Sasuke was right. I didn't understand him or his feelings. I couldn't understand his need for revenge, that's why he didn't listen to me. Everything I said was pointless. I thought I knew Sasuke, but I didn't understand him at all. Nothing I did at the Valley of the End would have changed is decision."

Young Naruto started shaking and more tears fell.

"What are you talking about? Of course I know Sasuke. He's my teammate, my friend! That's all there is to know" to young Naruto's dismay, his older self didn't react. "Sasuke didn't leave! That's a lie… Please tell me that is a lie…"

"It's not" older Naruto said. "I'm sorry…"

The Genin started sobbing and moaning, before he slapped the Hokage's hands off his shoulders and glared at him with his tearful blue eyes.

"So that's it? You're sorry? Is that all you have to say?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled.

"You could have stopped him, but you gave up!" the boy roared in fury and desperation. "You gave up on Sasuke and that's why he's gone!"

Older Naruto just lowered his head.

"Naruto! You don't understand!" Tsunade yelled back. "You have no idea what he went through!"

"All I know is that I became a quitter that gave up on my friend!" the boy said, filled with revulsion for his future self. "I don't care if I became Hokage… If I couldn't save Sasuke then nothing was worth it! I'll still end up being a loser! What kind of Hokage can't even save a friend? There's no way I'll end up turning into you!"

After saying that, the boy pushed his older self out of his way and jumped out the hospital window.

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, as the genin disappeared into the village, crying his eyes out.

Sakura and Yamato, who had been listening outside the door, entered.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"He ran away" Tsunade said.

"I'll go after him" Yamato said, ready to go. But the Hokage raised an arm and stopped him.

"No" Naruto said. "Let him go."

"But Naruto…" Sakura said, looking at her heartbroken teammate.

"He needs to be alone right now" the Hokage said, smiling sadly. "You remember how stubborn I was back then, right? Let's give him some space."

"Naruto…" Sakura said with her eyes brimming with tears.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan" the Hokage said, turning to Yamato. "Would you mind coming with me, Yamato-taichou? I need your help."

"Eh… Sure, Naruto" Yamato said.

"I'll see you guys later" Naruto said, leaving the hospital with Yamato.

Sakura was shaking. Why did Naruto have to face everything alone? Why did he keep smiling like an idiot when she knew how sad he was? And why did he expect her to just stay there with her arms crossed, doing nothing?

"Naruto, you dumbass…" Sakura said. "The both of you!"

"Sakura! Where are you going?" Tsunade asked, but it was too late. Her apprentice had already jumped out of the window into the nearest roof and disappeared.

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><p><strong>Okay, young Naruto got angry at older Naruto (I hope no one got confused, it's kinda hard to write the same character talk to himself). <strong>

**I hope you liked this! And please review ^_^**

**See ya!**


	4. The Man with All the Answers

**Ok, it's Sasuke's time now. I hope I kept him in character, though I took some liberties with him.**

**Good reading!**

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><p><strong>The Man with All the Answers<strong>

すべての回答を持つ男 _(Subete no kaitō o motsu otoko)_

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his black eyes and stared at the bars of his cell. A black haired man from the ANBU opened the door and entered his cell.

"Who are you?" the young Uchiha asked, glaring as the ANBU placed a chakra suppression seal on his chest and released his sore hands from the chains in the wall.

"You can call me Sai" the ANBU said with a smile. "I'm here to take you to the Uchiha Compound."

"It's just you?" Sasuke asked surprised that the Hokage thought he was so weak that just one ANBU would be sufficient to take him.

"Just me will be enough" the ANBU answered.

As soon as Sasuke's hands were free, he attacked the man with Taijutsu. Much to his horror, he found Sai's tantō pointed to his chest and stepped back.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you" Sai said, still smiling. "The Hokage told me not to kill you, but I can hurt you if you try to escape or attack me. If you don't mind, I'd like to make this nasty trip as smoothly as possible."

Sasuke stared back at the smiling man. He couldn't use chakra for now; he also couldn't use Taijutsu against this man… The only option left would be stealing one of his weapons and kill him quickly.

Sai grabbed the bag with Sasuke's clothes and threw it at the raven.

"Please get dressed so we can leave" the ANBU said.

Sasuke removed his clothes from the bag and waited a few seconds to see if this Sai guy was gonna give him some privacy.

"_Apparently not"_ the raven thought bitterly, as he undressed his prison clothes under the ANBU's stare and, apparently, perpetual smile. Damn, that was annoying!

"Are you done?" he asked, as Sasuke put on his sandals. "Very well then… Chōjū Giga!"

Black snakes slithered from a paper and quickly wrapped around Sasuke's writs and arms.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" the raven cried, trying to break free.

"I'm sorry but that's out of the question" Sai answered. "I know you would try to escape even though it's hopeless."

"Hopeless? Don't you underestimate me" the raven haired boy growled. "I am more powerful than you imagine."

Sai chuckled and wrapped a rope around Sasuke's writs as a precaution and pulled him out of the underground prison.

Under the sunset, as they walked through the practically deserted streets of the village, Sasuke started to notice something odd. None of the houses were familiar, even though he knew the village like the back of his hand. The Hokage's Mansion looked completely different, same for the Ninja Academy and even the Hospital. When the pre-teen looked at the Hokage Mountain he finally noticed Tsunade's head, which he was pretty damn sure it wasn't there when he left the village. There was no way they could have built that in a few days!

"What is going on?" Sasuke asked, glaring when the smiling ANBU didn't even turn around to face him. "Why is Konoha so different?"

"Oh… You've noticed, huh?" Sai answered. "Sakura and Naruto always said how perceptive you were, I guess they were right."

Sasuke blinked. He didn't like being confused and he had the feeling that man was toying with him.

"How do you know Naruto and Sakura?" Sasuke asked, he didn't recall any of his teammates having been in contact with the ANBU.

"They are my comrades" Sai said.

"Comrades? Is that some kind of joke?"

"Of course not" the man said. "They're my precious friends. We used to be teammates in Team 7… or Team Kakashi a bit later."

"What?" Sasuke cried, completely taken aback. "What the fuck are you talking about? You don't belong in Team 7!"

"Really? How do you know that?"

"Because I'm… I used to be part of Team 7" the raven cried. "Don't think you can deceive me with those ridiculous lies!"

"I'm not lying, Sasuke" Sai started pulling the boy into the outskirts of the village. "I was your replacement after you left Konoha to go to Orochimaru. I guess I should thank you, if it weren't for you, I'd never find such amazing friends."

"Don't joke with me!" Sasuke yelled. "You're obviously lying! I haven't even left to Orochimaru yet."

Sai stopped and forced Sasuke to look around.

"Take a good look, Uchiha Sasuke. This isn't a joke, a lie or an illusion… This is reality. Twenty years ago, you left Konoha to join Orochimaru. Three years later, the Akatsuki came here and razed the village to the ground… all that was left was a huge crater. That's why everything had to be rebuilt."

"What the fuck? I told you to stop lying!" Sasuke growled. "Why are you making this up? What's your point? Are you saying that I was sent to the future?"

Sasuke said it as a joke, but Sai nodded and his smile was replaced by a dead serious expression.

"I'm afraid a jutsu has gone wrong" the ANBU continued. "One of the village's researchers was trying an old jutsu that could bend time and space. She wasn't supposed to bring anyone from the past, but she caught you and Naruto by mistake. So here you are."

Sasuke gaped, unsure on how to react to that information. Time-travel jutsu? He and Naruto were sent twenty years into the future? Seriously?

"You don't really expect me to believe that this is the future" Sasuke said with a disdainful grin. "I told you to stop underestimating me. I'm not as easy to fool as Naruto. You can't trick me."

Sai smiled once more, but his black eyes were filled with anger. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, after all his life was currently in this man's hands.

"Use your Sharingan then" Sai said. "Those eyes of yours can tell if this is a genjutsu or not. Go head! Dispel it!"

"Hmph" Sasuke did exactly that and activated his Sharingan for a few seconds before the chakra seal drained all his power. But he could tell that the man was speaking the truth, the village was real! It wasn't a genjutsu!

Content, Sai pushed Sasuke towards an old path, getting further away from the village. Soon, they were surrounded by nothing more than trees and bushes.

"Where are you taking me?" Sasuke asked, feeling as if he was a dog on a leash.

"I'm taking you to see Naruto" the ANBU said, smiling once more.

Sasuke widened his onyx eyes.

"Wha…? Why the hell are you taking me to him?" the young Uchiha growled.

"Because he is the one who will decide your fate" Sai answered.

"My fate? What do mean by that? Why would Naruto decide anything about me?"

Despite Sasuke's questions, Sai remained silent and the raven gave up. Sasuke's mind was racing; he still couldn't believe that he was in the future. How could that be? Sure the village was different… but that didn't mean that he was in the future. Maybe this was some sort of very complex dream… but then… how could he feel pain?

Suddenly, the ANBU stopped and Sasuke frowned.

"Why did you stop?" the boy asked brusquely.

"We're here."

Sasuke looked at the setting sun behind the trees and saw him. A man was sitting in a rock, casually looking at the sun. He was wearing a white coat and the Hokage's hat was in his back, stuck around his neck. The man's shoulder length blond hair waved in the breeze.

"Naruto" Sai called. "I brought him here."

"_Naruto?" _Sasuke eyes became impossibly wide as the blond man stood up and turned around to face them.

The raven expected to see his dumb teammate, the annoying dead-last who came after him actually believing that he could convince him to come back and forget his revenge with a few pretty words about friendship and half a dozen punches. Instead, Sasuke saw before him a blond adult who towered over him, staring at him with his solemn blue eyes.

"It's been a while… Sasuke" the Naruto look-alike said, shocking the raven with his deep and mature voice.

"Are you saying… that you're Naruto?" Sasuke said, frowning in suspicion.

"Hmph…" the blond chuckled. "You don't believe this, do you? Well… I guess it's kinda hard to believe that we were sent into the future."

"Of course I don't believe any of this" Sasuke answered back. "I don't know what kind of trick you're all trying to pull, but I won't fall for it."

Naruto just stared at his former teammate before turning to Sai.

"Sai… You can untie him. I can take it from here."

"Are you sure, Naruto?" the ANBU asked, glaring at Sasuke. "This guy is…"

"It's okay, Sai. It will be alright."

Although he was reluctant, Sai obeyed his Hokage and the snakes around the Uchiha's wrists and arms disappeared with a blast of ink, leaving only the rope that Naruto grabbed.

"See you later, Naruto" Sai said, jumping towards a tree and disappearing into the foliage.

The moment Naruto untied Sasuke's ropes, the boy kicked him in the gut and jumped away from the blond, keeping a safe distance. Before the Hokage looked up, Sasuke had already made the hand seals and his Chidori shone in his hand.

"This is it!" the raven yelled as he tried to pierce the blond man.

Sasuke didn't even have time to react. Suddenly, Naruto's body was surrounded by light, like he was on fire or something, and a yellow chakra hand moved from the man's body and grabbed Sasuke's neck, pinning him against the trunk of a tree.

"_What?"_ the bewildered raven boy thought, as his Chidori vanished. _"What the hell happened? I couldn't even see him attack me… It didn't even take a second! What is this power? This chakra? Who is this person?"_

"Sasuke… I'm telling you this for your own good" the man said unperturbedly, but with his orange eyes deadly serious. "Don't try to kill me again. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be. During our fight at the Valley of the End, I only used a little bit of this power and I still was a mach to your curse seal. Right now, you have no chance in defeating me."

The boy's black eyes widened in both bewilderment and distress. How did this man know that? How did he know about his fight against Naruto and the curse seal? He wasn't even there! Unless…

Unless he really was Naruto.

"What… What are you?" the Uchiha asked, trying to free himself from the chakra arm. "What the hell is this power?"

Naruto grinned.

"This is the power of a jinchūriki" the blond Hokage answered. "A human vessel who has a tailed beast sealed within them."

"Tailed… beast?"

"The Kyuubi. I have the Nine Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside me. That's where this power comes from."

Sasuke gaped, completely taken aback. The Kyuubi? The demon that had tried to destroy Konoha was sealed inside this man?

"That's also the reason why the Akatsuki came after me" the blond continued, watching impassively as Sasuke's eyes grew wider. "Yes… that's the reason why Itachi came after me that day. This is the power they wanted."

Sasuke remembered the day his brother came back and tried to capture Naruto.

* * *

><p>"<em>Of course your target is Naruto" Jiraiya said.<em>

"_The order to bring back Naruto-kun was given to us by our superiors of our organization, Akatsuki" Itachi had answered._

* * *

><p>"So… you really are Naruto" the raven said, as his adult teammate grinned.<p>

"You finally accepted the truth, huh teme? Took you long enough… my younger self was a bit easier to convince."

Sasuke tried to free himself again, but it was of no use. He was about to use the power of the curse seal, when Naruto's grip became stronger.

"Don't use that power" the Hokage ordered. "You still can't control it fully and it will eat you away. Besides, even if you advance to the second stage, I'm still stronger than you."

"Don't joke with me!" Sasuke cried, activating his curse seal and moving on immediately to the second stage.

However, Naruto was too fast and more arms grabbed the Uchiha boy in an indomitable hold. The more Sasuke tried to free himself, the stronger the grip became. The boy was having trouble breathing and his ribs and arms cracked. Naruto was going to crush him to death.

Unable to keep the curse seal any longer, Sasuke turned to normal. Naruto closed his eyes and threw the Uchiha to ground, where he started coughing and fighting for breath.

Was this the man that complete loser would grow up into? Was Naruto going to become this powerful? How was that possible? How could someone like him become this strong?

"Do you understand now, Sasuke? Fighting me now will be hopeless. You can't win" Sasuke rose from the ground, glaring at Naruto in hatred, shame and fear. "Besides… killing me won't give you the Mangekyō."

"How… What do you know about that?" Sasuke growled.

The blond chuckled.

"I know a lot of things, Sasuke-teme" Naruto said, almost cordially. Then, he moved away so Sasuke could see an open path. "If you want to leave the village, you can take this road. No one will stop you."

Sasuke blinked, unsure he heard him right.

"What? You are… letting me go?"

"Sure. Why would I keep you here?" the blond said. "You definitely don't want to stay in the village, so why stop you? You can go. I promise I won't go after you again."

The boy started walking towards the path and Naruto, looking at the latter suspiciously. That had to be some kind of trick. The Naruto he knew would never let him leave.

"What are you plotting, Naruto?" the raven asked. "What is your objective?"

The blond man shrugged.

"Nothing. I'm the Hokage now and my first concern is the village's safety. If I tried to keep you here against your will, you could hurt or kill someone. Why would I want you there? So just go Sasuke… you're not worth it."

Sasuke felt something painful in his heart. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't pleasant to hear Naruto say those things even though the raven thought he was right.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. "Why aren't you leaving? I told you, I won't go after you."

Sasuke glared at the blond man. He wasn't sure why he was angry… was it because Naruto was ordering him around like some dumb little kid or was it because he seemed completely unaffected that Sasuke was leaving?

"If what you're saying is true, then I am twenty years in the future" Sasuke answered. "Where would I go now? I don't know anything about this timeline."

Naruto nodded.

"Yes… I guess you're right. You don't know what happened, huh?" the blond looked at the setting sun, crossing his arms behind his head like he used to in his youth. "If you left, you would still try to find Orochimaru to join him, right? I mean… that was your objective."

Sasuke nodded, feeling increasingly anxious. He had the feeling that Naruto knew a lot more than he was telling him.

"Man… I guess joining Orochimaru is completely pointless now. Since he's dead and everything" the Hokage continued, completely relaxed.

Sasuke almost choked.

"What? Orochimaru is dead?"

"Yeah" the Hokage said impassively. "You killed him when you were sixteen. By the time he tried to take over your body, you were stronger than him. Besides, you never had the intention of letting him take over your body, am I right? All you wanted was to learn what could from him to defeat Itachi."

Sasuke was dumbfounded to say the least. Orochimaru was dead? He had killed him? Sure… he never had the real intention to let that bastard take over his body, but he was willing to take that risk if it meant becoming strong enough to kill his brother. And now he was dead?

Naruto started walking towards his left, away from the path that showed Sasuke.

"In case you're wondering, the jutsu that brought you two to the future isn't permanent" the Hokage said. "You'll go back to your own time, so don't worry. Well… bye Sasuke."

"Wait!" as Naruto walked away, Sasuke grabbed his coat, surprising them both. "Is my brother… is Itachi dead?"

Naruto turned around and looked sadly at the boy he used to love like a brother.

"Yes… Itachi is dead."

Sasuke gaped. He just… couldn't believe it. Itachi was dead. Dead! His revenge had been carried out.

Naruto watched as the raven seemed lost in his own thoughts. After the shock of hearing about Itachi's death, Sasuke had smiled for a few seconds before his expression became blank. Slowly, Naruto released the Uchiha's finger from his coat, waking him up from his trance.

"If want a place to stay until you go back to your time, you can follow me" the Hokage said. "Or you can leave on your own… the choice is yours alone, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared back at Naruto. It would be pointless to leave to somewhere unknown now; there was nothing there for him. On the other hand, if he went with _this_Naruto he could find some answers. How had Itachi died? How strong did Sasuke become? Where was his future self? Was he still alive or had he died battling against his brother?

"_Naruto knows"_ the raven thought. _"I have to convince him to tell me what he knows."_

Naruto didn't wait, he just started walking. Sasuke looked once again to the path that would take him away from Konoha, turned around and ran after the man who had all the answers.

The two walked in silence through the trees. Sasuke stood right beside his teammate, still surprised on how much he had grown and changed. The blond didn't say a word to him, unlike his younger counterpart would have done in this situation.

Sasuke sort of enjoyed the man that Dobe would turn into. He was quiet and peaceful and made the raven feel somewhat at ease in his presence. Despite everything, Naruto was the one person he trusted the most and if he was trapped in an unknown moment in time, the blond would be the only person he would believe in.

Naruto could be a lot of things, but he wasn't manipulative or a liar. Sasuke seriously doubted that his teammate had changed that in his later life.

All of a sudden, the trees became widely spaced and Sasuke recognized ruins of buildings. With dismay, he noticed his clan's symbol in some walls. That was the Uchiha's Compound… or what was left of it.

"_Right… that guy said that the village had been destroyed"_ Sasuke thought, feeling a bit depressed. _"With no Uchiha's here, of course no one would bother to rebuild this place."_

"We're here" Naruto stopped and Sasuke slammed against his back.

"Here? What do you…?" Sasuke looked up and gasped. His house had been completely rebuilt; it looked new and odd in the middle of all those ruins. "My house…"

Naruto smiled and opened the door.

"I hope you like it" the blond said. "I tried to rebuild it with my clones last night, but I still needed a little help so I asked Yamato-taichou, one of my former captains, to give me a hand."

"You… did this?" Sasuke asked. "Why?"

Naruto turned on lights, pleased that they had turned on the electricity in the house again.

"I wasn't sure if you were leaving or not but, if you stayed, I wasn't going to let you sleep on the street" the man said. "Well… I have to go now. You are still free to go where you please… just don't go to Konoha, okay? I don't want to worry that you'll kill someone."

Sasuke glared at him.

"I won't go to Konoha! Why would I want to go there anyway?"

"Exactly. You have no reason to go" Naruto answered. "There's food your fridge and hot water too, okay? Goodbye, Sasuke."

Naruto started walking away towards the village, leaving Sasuke staring at his doorstep. Was that it? Was Naruto just going to dump him here and go back to his life? Did Sasuke really mean that little to him in the future?

Of course, if Sasuke had left the village, Naruto would have gone on with his life and forgot him like he should. Besides, the blond had become Hokage and had most likely thousands of new friends. Why would he care for an old one who had betrayed him and tried to kill him? It was only reasonable…

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, with his back to the raven. "Do you think you'll still be here tomorrow?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go" Sasuke said, confused. "Why are you asking?"

"Then I might check up on you tomorrow" the Rokudaime said. "After all, you're my responsibility."

"Huh? What are talking about, usuratonkachi? You're not my fucking nanny!"

Naruto smirked.

"I'll see you tomorrow, teme!"

Naruto jumped and disappeared into the woods. Sasuke wasn't sure if he was pissed or relieved. Adult Naruto was still a pain in the neck! But… he was the one who could tell Sasuke what he needed to know about his future.

It wouldn't be so bad to see him tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke is pragmatic, the only way he would stay near Konoha was if he thought we could gain something with it, even if it's information. Naruto knows that and used it to his advantage. Manipulative or just smart? <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **


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